Living Signs of Divine Favours

In his Friday Sermon of 17 July 2020~ 25 Dhul-Qaddah 1441 AH, Imam- Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam Hadhrat Khalifatullah Munir A. Azim (aba) of Mauritius narrated a number of interesting, pure dreams made by devout members of the Jamaat in recent times. These dreams, in their own different ways, confirm the validity, power and blessings of prayers in the Divine Way. When believers remain true to the covenant of the Faith, observe the moral teachings of the Holy Prophet (sa) by following in the footsteps of the Khalifatullah (aba) of their times, and show sincerity of purpose in utter self-surrender to the Will of God amidst the trials of earthly circumstances; the Divine gaze keeps such humble ones relatively safe even in times of grave dangers, and elevates them morally and spiritually that they become blessed with countless favours of the Divine. Indeed, the light of Divine mercy and grace embrace and illumine them and their surroundings in myriad ways that they become living signs of pure Faith, notes Hadhrat Saheb (aba) in the discourse. 

Read the Extracts from the Friday Sermon Below:  

 '...I tell you about an amazing dream that one of my followers in Kerala, Sulfikar Ali Sahib saw last week. 

This dream is based on the importance of duahs and trust in Allah that Allah will grant [realise] these duahs, and it is an extraordinary sign that this dear disciple saw this dream on 05 July 2020, and since a long time, Allah had already helped me to prepare these series of sermons on the theme of duahs, and last week Allah inspired me to start my Friday sermons on the subject of invocations, without me being aware of this dream. It was not until after the sermon last Friday that I learned of this dream. So this is by no means a coincidence. The ways of Allah are truly extraordinary.

So the dream (which he saw around 3:00 a.m.) is as follows: He found that he was in the company of a few people, making fervent invocations to Allah (swt), a lot of Duahs ... yet, he thought there was no way his duahs would be accepted and was on the verge of despair. Then the person who was with him, told him not to despair, but to increase his invocations because Allah (swt) listens to the prayers of His servants in distress ... he advised him to repent a lot, to seek Istigfaar and to continue with his prayers so that Allah the Most Merciful will listen to him. So he continued his prayers ... in abundance. Eventually, he reached a space where he understood that he was meeting Allah. Appearing in the form of a person ... the being said to him: “Your prayers are accepted, you are going to be granted Jannat (paradise)”.

Du'ah: Invocation to Allah- II

Alhamdulillah, all glory, greatness and praise are for Allah (swt), Master of the universe Who gave me, this humble servant the Tawfiq to continue the subject of my Friday Sermon today on the invocations (duahs) that He taught me.

So, whoever hears these duahs and those who bear witness to how these duahs come down from the heavens are very lucky and fortunate among the billions of creatures who inhabit this world....

So listen carefully to these spiritual treasures, these duahs that come directly from my Lord, Allah (swt): -

O My Lord (Rab)! I am a victim of the atrocities of my opponents and the water in my eyes [i.e., my tears] are witnesses to it. It is these tears that know this oppression better.

O Allah! My tears know these atrocities better. How should I console my heart? What to tell it? With whom will I share this pain, because it is a war of pain and suffering and that is my very ordeal! Suffering for religion has killed me and my heart is shattered to pieces. If I had not received the support of my Beloved, then this is the same death that I would have acquired.

O My Master! This favour is certainly Yours and at every moment it is this same hope that I conceive that all my difficulties will be erased.

O my Master! This burden of pain is very heavy.

O my Beloved! Do not hide Your face; that’s my remedy.

O my Master! Treat us with mercy. We have hope and trust in You.

O my Beloved! We are faithful to You; we trust You, and all of Your promises are true. We have come to the brink of peril [dangers] and it is from this very place that we must call You.

Du'ah: Invocation to Allah- I

'Who is it that answers the distressed when they call upon Him? Who removes their suffering? Who makes you successors in the earth? Is it another god beside God? Little notice you take!' .---(Surah An-Naml; 27: 63).

After having expounded on the ATTRIBUTES OF ALLAH – and I hope that you understood the subject well - I begin today a series of sermons [Friday sermons] on invocations [to Allah] - DUAHS.

In the light of the verses that I have just recited before you, I will teach you some invocations (duahs) that Allah (swt) Himself taught me by His grace and His favours. And personally, I think that Allah (swt) had taught in the same way [these invocations] to His chosen servants in the past and I ask you all to listen carefully to these invocations and to say “Ameen” [May it be so] in your hearts.

Allah Himself opened my mind, enlightened my mind, and my heart, and He placed these extraordinary words on my lips [lit. in my mouth], so that I can address Him. As for me, I am just a beggar in front of [my doorstep] my Master’s door. It was by His grace and favours that He taught me how to address Him. Even if these invocations already exist, and I do not know of their existence, then it is a great favour of my Master to have taught them to me; certainly these are extraordinary invocations. So I have to be very grateful to my Allah [God] and I am very fortunate that Allah (swt) Himself taught me all these duahs [invocations]. Alhamdulillah.

O Allah, I am very weak, full of sins; every day by the weaknesses that overwhelm me [that I have], I commit sins. O Allah, I ask You to wash me of all my sins, to cleanse myself of all the faults that I have, to test my heart by the piety of hearts, O You Who effaces the stumbling of sinners.

The Attributes of Allah-XI

By the grace of Allah and the Tawfiq bestowed by Him, I have yet again the opportunity to continue to expound on the attributes of Allah (twa).

Hazrat Abu Huraira (ra) reported Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) as saying: “There are ninety-nine names of Allah; he who commits them to memory would get into paradise. Verily, Allah is odd [He is one, and it is an odd number] and He loves odd numbers.” (Muslim).

In the Hadith compilation, Sahih Al-Bukhari, it has been recorded concerning the beautiful names of Allah that they are ninety-nine, i.e. one hundred minus one, and whoever believes in their meanings and acts accordingly, will enter paradise; and Allah is Witr (One, which is an odd number) and loves ‘the witr’ (i.e. odd numbers).

Allah is the Creator (Al-Khaliq); the Formidable Creator. This attribute points to the complex and astonishingly beautiful organization of constituent parts of the universe with their complete dependence on an underlying order [that is fundamental and very precise] that is found both in the cosmic universe and each atom or microscopic element.

Man’s part in this lies in acquiring in his soul not only knowledge of the whole and the minutiae of the parts of the physical universe but in knowing generically, and in detail, the arrangements of the spiritual universe – things such as the role and rank of the different angels, as well as the advent of the messengers and prophets of Allah and their ranks in the divine order.

Asma’ul Husna: Names of Allah

The Attributes of Allah- Part X

Wa lillaahil Asma’ul Husna, fad’uhu biha’.

The most beautiful names belong to Allah, so call on Him by them. (7:181)

Asma’ul Husna, means the most beautiful names, and the most beautiful names indeed belong to Allah (twa).

In a Hadith compiled by Imam Bukhari (ra), it has been narrated that the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said: 

“There are 99 names that are Allah’s alone, one hundred less one. Whoever (learns, understand, and) enumerates them, enters Paradise.” 

The Attributes of Allah- IX

The 'Fall' of Hazrat Adam (as)

Alhamdulillah, Summa Alhamdulillah we continue today on the subject of the attributes of Allah, and man’s thanksgiving to Allah for the sublime favours which He has done to him. We thank Him by mentioning Him by His most beautiful names.

Through the favours that Hazrat Adam (as) benefited from Allah during his creation and also afterwards, it appears to us that the elite has with God states [stages, emotions & connections] that they do not share with any other, and that it is through them, excluding ordinary beings, that God executes His plan.

The fact of having eaten the [forbidden] fruit, and the fall on earth which followed, had indeed many happy effects. But how could this disobedience to Allah have had good repercussions, you may ask? Well, in paradise, Adam and his wife knew God only under His attributes of Provider (Al Razzaq), Donor (Al Mu’ti), and Benefactor (Al Muhsin), but in His Secret Benevolence (Lutfihi Al-Khafi) which presides over the divine plan, it pleased God to reveal Himself to them as The Magnanimous (Al Halim), The One Who conceals [faults] (Al Sattar), The Forgiver (Al Ghafur), The Indulgent (Al Tawwab), and the One Who chooses [His elect] (Al-Mujtabi) among many other attributes. His magnanimity in fact meant that He did not hasten to punish them for their act, which is indeed the characteristic of this attribute, which leaves a delay to the sinner (whether to forgive him afterwards and have mercy on him, or to better exercise His power over him by making him suffer a painful revenge).

The Attributes of Allah- VIII

“He is God: there is no god other than Him, the Sovereign, the Supreme-In-Holiness, Source of Peace, Granter of Security, Guardian over all, the Almighty, the Compeller, the Majestic (Al-Mutakabbir) …” (Al-Hashar 59 : 24).

Al-Mutakabbir is The Majestic, Conscious of His greatness. Allah alone has the right to know and to proclaim His greatness and omnipotence over everything and everyone. He magnifies Himself and sees grandeur and superbness only for Him. All greatness belongs to Him. This attitude is completely justified because it is true.

Allah is distinguished by an exclusive greatness just for Him and by an absolute Royalty. He controls everything. He is the one who shows His greatness in all things and by all means.

Know well [what will follow], O my brothers and sisters! Do not be fooled by the simple verbal intention that you give to the meaning of your life, because God hopes to see a radical transformation [in you which] change this.

He demands that you inflict a kind of death on yourselves, after which He will breathe new life into you. Make haste to promote peace among yourselves, to forgive your brothers and sisters their weaknesses, because the one who is not inclined to make peace with his brother is mean, and he risks being excluded [from the proximity of Allah] because he is a source of dissension.

Give up your base desires and don’t cultivate resentment. Even if you are right, behave humbly as if you were wrong, so that forgiveness is reserved for you. Eliminate obesity from your ego, because narrow is the door you have to go through. So eliminate your ego and pride so that you can go through that door.